Pierre Roger Ducos (25 July 174716 March 1816), better known as Roger Ducos, was a French political figure during the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

and First Empire, a member of the

National Convention The National Convention (french: link=no, Convention nationale) was the parliament of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for the rest of its existence during the French Revolution, following the two-year National ...

, and of the Directory.

In the Revolution

Born in Montfort-en-Chalosse,

Aquitaine Aquitaine ( , , ; oc, Aquitània ; eu, Akitania; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne ( oc, Guiana), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former administrative region of the country. Since 1 Januar ...

(now in Landes department), he was elected deputy to the Convention by the ''

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety- ...

'' of the Landes. He sat in ''

The Plain The Plain (french: La Plaine), better known as The Marsh (french: Le Marais), was the majority of independent deputies in the French National Convention during the French Revolution. They sat between the Girondists on their right and Montagna ...

'' (the party which had no clear attitude, and served to sway the vote). He voted for the death of

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the ...

Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was e ...

, without appeal or delay, but was not prominent in the Convention afterwards. Ducos was a member of the Council of Five Hundred, over which he presided on the 18th of Fructidor Coup (1797). At the end of his term, he became a justice of the peace, but after Barthélemy Catherine Joubert's ''

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, ...

'' (the '' 30 Prairial of the year VIII'', or 18 June 1799), he was named a member of the executive Directory, thanks to the influence of Paul Barras, who counted on Ducos as his partisan.

Consulate, Empire, and exile

On 9 November 1799, Ducos accepted the ''coup d'état'' of

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

(the '' 18 Brumaire''), and was one of the three Provisional Consuls (with Napoleon and Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès), becoming vice-president of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...

with the arrival of a stable Consulate formula. He was many times honored under the Empire, but in 1814 he abandoned Napoleon, and voted for his deposition. He sought to gain the favor of the government of the Restoration, but in 1816 was exiled on the basis of the law regarding the ''

regicide Regicide is the purposeful killing of a monarch or sovereign of a polity and is often associated with the usurpation of power. A regicide can also be the person responsible for the killing. The word comes from the Latin roots of ''regis'' ...

s''. He died in March 1816 near Ulm, from a carriage accident.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ducos, Roger 1747 births 1816 deaths 18th-century heads of state of France Deputies to the French National Convention Directeurs of the First French Republic Exiled French politicians First French Empire French Consulate 18th-century French lawyers Members of the Council of Five Hundred People from Landes (department) Regicides of Louis XVI Road incident deaths in Germany Politicians from Nouvelle-Aquitaine